There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so

Question

There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so-called Loch Ness monster; however, evidence that tends to support the existence of the monster, such as grainy photographs that purport to show the creature,  is outweighed by the evidence that supports  the idea that there is no such monster.

A. is outweighed by the evidence that supports

B. are outweighed by the evidence that supports

C. are outweighed by evidence that supports

D. is outweighed by evidence for supporting

E. is outweighed by evidence that supports

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(E)

Step 1: Read the Original Sentence Carefully, Looking for Errors

The underlined portion starts with the singular verb “is,” and a scan of the answer choices shows a choice between “is” and the plural “are.” The thing that “is outweighed by the evidence” is other “evidence.” Therefore, this singular verb is correct. However, there’s also a comparison here between the evidence for and against the existence of the Loch Ness monster. Comparisons must be parallel in form; here, the first part of the comparison is about “evidence,” while the second is about “the evidence.” Since there’s a definite article in the second part but not the first, the structure of the comparison is not parallel.

Step 2: Scan and Group the Answer Choices

There’s a 3-2 split between the choices that use “the evidence,” (A) and (B), and those that use “evidence,” (C), (D), and (E). Another 3-2 split is between the singular verb “is” in (A), (D), and (E) and the plural verb “are” in (B) and (C). Either split is a good starting place for eliminating choices.

Step 3: Eliminate Choices Until Only One Remains

Eliminate (A) due to the comparison error identified in the original sentence and (B) as well because it commits the same error. (B) also incorrectly changes the first word in the underlined segment to the plural “are.” Despite the fact that photographs are given as an example of this evidence, this verb belongs to the singular subject “evidence.”

Of the three choices that fix the comparison error, (C) incorrectly uses “are,” so it can be eliminated. (D) changes “that supports” to “for supporting.” It would be correct to say there is evidence for something, and it would be correct to say there is evidence supporting something. However, “evidence for supporting” is not idiomatically correct usage. (E) is the only choice that fixes the error in the comparison without introducing a new error, so it is correct. Read it back into the sentence to confirm:

There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so-called Loch Ness monster; however; evidence that tends to support the existence of the monster, such as grainy photographs that purport to show the creature,  is outweighed by evidence that supports  the idea that there is no such monster.

daagh · Answer

There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so-called Loch Ness monster; however, evidence that tends to support the existence of the monster, such as grainy photographs that purport to show the creature,  is outweighed by the evidence that supports  the idea that there is no such monster.

A. is outweighed by the evidence that supports --- Evidence for X should be matched by evidence of Y and not by the evidence of Y --- wrong

B. are outweighed by the evidence that supports – 1. Evidence is singular. It cannot have ‘are’ as verb 2. The evidence is wrong

C. are outweighed by evidence that supports -- ‘are’ is wrong as in B

D. is outweighed by evidence for supporting –for support is unidiomatic

E. is outweighed by evidence that supports –  the correct choice

shameekv1989 · Answer

daagh  :- Can you elaborate more on this aspect "Evidence for X should be matched  by evidence of Y  and  not by the evidence of Y  --- wrong "

How is meaning changed with the addition of "the" article? Basically, what do the 2 sentences (A and E) mean in the literal sense?

daagh · Answer

Sham

Parallelism should be maintained both in structure and meaning. You are certainly correct in that the meaning is not changed by using the definite article 'the'. But at the same, we must admit that by using 'the' we are changing the structural parallelism. But one may rest assured that this is too thin an ice to skate and that GMAT won't entertain such shallow factors.

avinashiitp · Answer

Why 'evidence for supporting' is wrong? For + gerund implies function of the evidence. It would great someone can respond. https://www.grammar-quizzes.com/gerund3b.html Bunuel daagh GMATNinja Abhi077

daagh · Answer

-Evidence that supports- in the nonunderlined part is not parallel with' evidence 'for supporting' in the underlined part. This will be the problem when you ignore structure and grammar before delving into meaning.

Abhi077 · Answer

Yes. 
As mentioned above, there is a parallelism error in the structure of the answer choice D. Also, If we mean that we have found evidence of a particular action, we use ‘evidence that’ followed by a clause.

VerbalBot · Answer

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There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

There is a booming tourism industry in Scotland centered around the so

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